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Traditions and Commandments

^1 (a)Then Pharisees and ^(b)scribes came to Jesus ^(c)from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (d)"Why do your disciples break ^(e)the tradition of the elders? ^(f)For they do not wash their hands when they eat." ³ He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, ^(g)‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ^(h)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' ⁵ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"^{[a] 6} he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have ⁽ⁱ⁾made void the word^[b] of God. ^7 (j)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, ^(m)"Hear and understand: ^11 (n)it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person." ¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were ^(o)offended when they heard this saying?" ¹³ He answered, ^(p)"Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(q)will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(r)they are blind guides.^[c] And ^(s)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(t)"Explain the parable to us." ¹⁶ And he said, ^(u)"Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that ^(v)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{[d] 18} But ^(w)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(x)evil thoughts, ^(y)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(z)slander. ^20 (aa)These are what defile a person. But ^(ab)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (ac)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, ^(ad)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(ae)"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." ²³ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^(af)"Send her away, for she is crying out after us." ²⁴ He answered, ^(ag)"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." ²⁵ But she came and ^(ah)knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." ²⁶ And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(ai)throw it to the dogs." ²⁷ She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(aj)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, ^(ak)great is your faith! ^(al)Be it done for you as you desire." ^(am)And her daughter was ^(an)healed instantly.^[e]

Jesus Heals Many

^29 (ao)Jesus went on from there and walked ^(ap)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^(aq)went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰ And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^(ar)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ^31 (as)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^(at)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^(au)they glorified ^(av)the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

^32 (aw)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^(ax)"I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." ³³ And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?" ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, ^(ay)"Seven, and a few small fish." ³⁵ And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶ he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^(az)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And ^(ba)they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^(bb)Magadan.